Operating mechanism for washing machines



W. E. PINCKNEY OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed Sept. 24, 1924 'INVENT'OR WM-E. P/NCKNEY.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 3, 1925 PATENT OFFICE.

UNITED STATES WILLIAIVI IvIAGI-IINE II'ANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

OPERATING It'iECHA'NISTJI FOR WASHING MACHINES.

Application filed September 24, 1924. Serial No. 739,604.

1 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it hereby known that I, IVILLIAM E. PINCKNEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Operating Mechanism for Washing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to the washing machine industry and more particularly to operating machines for driving the wringer mechanism of a washing ma chine, by means of a mechanism especially adapted to be operated from the main drive shaft, so that, by a simple interchange of a single pair of gears, the speed of the wringer shaft can be changed from 48 R. P. M. to 715 It. P. M.

I accomplish these results in the manner set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a section taken along the line 11 in Fig. 3.

Figure 2 is a section taken along 22 in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a section taken along the line 33 in Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 1.

Attention is drawn to my Patent No. 1,492,808, over which this is an improvement, and in this application, only those parts are illustrated which actually form a part of the invention.

Similar numbers of reference refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring in detail to the drawing, I have illustrated a gear case 10, which is attached to the side of the washing machine (not shown), as is the case in the above mentioned patent. The cylinder drive shaft 11, pinion 12, clutch 13, and operating lever 14, as well as the segment gear 15, and connecting rod 16, are the same as in the patent above referred to.

On the back 17, of the case 10, I have mounted a spur crank gear 18, to which the rod 16, is connected by means of the pin 19.

On the back 17, I have formed an offset whose rear wall 20, supports a drive'shaft 21, through which power is supplied to the device. Shaft 21, journals at its forward end in the bearing 22, in the flange 23.

the line A bearing 24, on the wall 20, and a beartransverse counter shaft 26, which is held in position by the screw plugs 27. Pinned on the shaft 26, and meshing with the gear 18, is a pinion 28. I

I have placed a standard 29, on the inside of the back 20, which standard supports a bearing 30. The shaft 31, journals in the bearing and the bearing 32, on the side 33, of the gear box 10. On one side of the shaft .31, I have pinned a miter gear 34, which meshes with the miter gear 35,011 the shaft 26.

On the shaft 31 is secured a worm wheel 36, which is driven by a worm 37, on the drive shaft 21. On the drive shaft 21, is also secured a spiral pinion 38, which meshes with the spiral gear 39, on the vertical wringer drive shaft 40, which journals in the bearings 41 and 42, on the upper and lower sides of the gear boX 10. A cover 43, is placed across the front of the gear box 10, to keep out the dust and to confine a lubricant.

By this arrangement, a relatively high motor speed applied to the shaft 21, may be branched out to a moderatel high speed 715 R. P. M. which is suitable or a centrifugal wringer on the one side and to supply the correct speed for the cylinder operating mechanism on the other. By the simple substitution of the spiral gear 39, with a worm wheel, the speed of a shaft may be easily dropped to 48 or 50 R. P. M. which is about the correct speed for the roll wringer shafts.

This makes the device especially adaptable for the manufacturer who produces washing machines of both the roll and cen-- trifugal types of wringers.

I am aware that washing machine operating devices, have been constructed in the past in great numbers.

I therefore do not claim such devices broadly, but I do intend to cover all such forms and modifications of same, as fall fairly within the appended claim.

I claim:

An operating mechanism for washing machines, having in combination a flat vertical gear box; a horizontal drive shaft passing transversely through the back of said box; a worm on said drive shaft; a horizontal longitudinal shaft over said worm at right angles to said drive shaft; a Worm Wheel on said longitudinal shaft meshing With said Worm; a transverse counter shaft in the same plane as is said longitudinal shaft; miter gears connecting said countei shaft and 1011 gitudinal shaft; a spiral pinion on said drive shaft; a vertical Wringer drive shaft; a spiral gear on said Wringer drive shaft meshing With said spiral pinion; a spur pinion on said counter shaft; a spur crank gear 10 mounted in said gear case and meshing with said spur gear; a segment gear in said case rocked by said crank and a cylinder actuating shaft projecting through said gear case having a pinion thereon meshing With said 15 segment gear.

WILLIAM E. PINCKNEY. 

